Japan’s surprisingly diverse swimming crab market

The seafood-adoring nation of Japan certainly loves its crab.Japanese Customs data for year 2019 shows that a total of 2,095,285 kilograms of frozen swimming crab (Portunus sp.) was imported. There is not a separate category for Callinectes species, which would cover the Atlantic blue crab. Instead, any imports in that genus would fall into “Crabs, other.” Picked or canned meat would also be separately listed. However, the frozen whole form is popular in Japan.The top supplier of Portunus species was Bahrain with 1,174,017 kilograms, and that country’s biggest supplier is Jaradah Blue Crab Factory. China comes in second at 636,570 kilograms, and trailing far behind are Myanmar (95,180 kilograms), Tunisia (75,000 kilograms), Vietnam (37,635 kilograms), and South Korea (21,420 kilograms).Tunisia lies outside the natural range of the two species common in the Japanese market – the “gazami” crab (Portunus trituberculatus) and the blue swimming crab (Portunus armatus, also called ...